UNCW Box | Gardner-Webb Box
WILMINGTON, N.C. – The University of Dayton Flyers put up big numbers on the second day of the Hughes Bros. Tires Seahawk Classic on Saturday at UNCW. The Flyers (4-4) beat the UNCW Seahawks 4-0 and continued their momentum into the second game with an 8-4 win over Gardner-Webb.
After winning her first game of her collegiate career as a reliever on Friday, freshman Alysha Isaacson earned today’s start against the Seahawks and pitched a complete-game shutout. Isaacson allowed just three hits and one walk, while striking out three.
“We made spectacular plays on defense, which gave Alysha the support she needed to the get the job done today,” Dayton Head Coach Cara LaPlaca said. “For being such a young player, she had tremendous poise and confidence and the team really responded to her energy.”
Sophomore Amanda Daly earned her second win of the season, while pitching four innings of relief against Gardner-Webb. She struck out two and allowed one earned run. Junior Sarah Wedel started the game and had one strikeout.
“Amanda’s ability to come in and shut down Gardner-Webb’s offense was huge. They came at us with a lot of pressure, and she was able to hold them off,” LaPlaca said.
Sophomore Kathleen Maloof was a force at the plate for the Flyers. Maloof was 4-for-8 with five RBI in Saturday’s games. Against UNCW, she went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double. She went 2-for-4 again in the second game against the Runnin’ Bulldogs. In that game, Maloof added a two-run base hit and another RBI-base hit.
“Kathleen’s patience at the plate is incredible. She waited for pitches that she could drive and when she could, she took advantage of the opportunities in front of her,” LaPlaca said.
The Flyer defense was strong against the Seahawks. Dayton made a number of diving plays and turned a double play, which gave UD the upper hand against UNCW.
Junior Lauren Nacke opened the scoring for the Flyers with a base hit up the middle in the bottom of the third inning. With the bases loaded later in the inning, the Seahawks hit Megan Barrett, which scored Jordan Jennings to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead.
Maloof hit a clutch two-out double in the bottom of the sixth to give the Flyers extra support in the runs department. Her hit to right field brought Emily Stegeman and Rachel Archer home.
The Flyers trailed 3-0 to the Runnin’ Bulldogs in the second game before the offense caught fire in the bottom of the fourth inning. In one frame, Dayton went from a 3-0 deficit to a 7-3 lead that overpowered Gardner-Webb.
Freshman Kasi Vazquez started the scoring with an infield single. Courtney Kutsulis drove home another run on a single to left field in the next at-bat. Isaacson ripped a two-run base hit to centerfield, and Maloof added her own two-run single. Nacke capped the seven-run inning with a base hit that scored Maloof.
“Kasi and Isaacson’s at-bats in the fourth inning were key,” LaPlaca said. “We were able to string hits together and get production from the top to the bottom of our order and that was the difference.”
Maloof added another RBI-single in the bottom of the sixth to help Dayton to its third consecutive win, defeating the Runnin’ Bulldogs 8-4.
The Flyers will square off against Gardner-Webb on Sunday in their final game of the tournament. First pitch is slated for 10 a.m. This is a change from the previously scheduled start of 11 a.m. Live stats and recaps are available on DaytonFlyers.com.
